Kapow Sunday: The Con, erm, Carries On!

Day Two Sunday was the crazier day of the two, mainly because Helga and I went dressed like this:

Once we got there, it was the coolest thing ever. Getting there on the Tube at 9am on a Sunday in those outfits was a little... weird. By the end of the day we didn't care, and were quite happily walking into McDonalds with top hats and proton packs. Kapow made these things normal, which is another reason I love it so much!

First stop on Sunday was the Misfits panel. (Technically, it was the Misfits and Skins panel, but we don't speak of that.) After the disappointment that was the Merlin panel, Misfits was a breath of fresh, funny and foul-mouthed air. Iwan Rheon (Simon) was charming, witty and unsettlingly smiley compared to his on-screen alter-ego, and Lauren Socha was basically everything you'd hope for from Kelly ("What do you get shouted at you in the street?" "I dunno. Mostly people just like my accent, so I get 'wank-uh' a lot."). The panel included such gems as the revelation that Lauren's brother (Being Human actor Michael Socha) was nearly cast as her love interest Nathan, the reveal that the powers-dealer will be back in series 3 and develop a romance with Kelly, and Iwan discovering that the button on his desk still played the Batman theme from the pros vs fans gameshow. He proceeded to press it everytime the Skins girls were answering questions. (I may have been to blame for this disruption. I was in the front row and I told them about the buzzer.)

The panel also brought some very bad news: Robert Sheehan has left Misfits. Not leaving: left. The Christmas special is the last episode he'll appear in. He'll be written out in an online short before series three arrives in Autumn, and said short will also introduce his replacement, the as-yet uncast Rudy. Will this be the death knell for my beloved show? The other characters are all very strong but Nathan was the lead, and Robert Sheehan brought to the role a brilliant mix of bravado, vulnerability and a willingness to be filmed rubbing sunblock on his arse crack. Producer Petra Fried was keen to point out that it was Howard Overman who created Nathan, not Robert Sheehan, and they're all sure that he'll strike gold again with the new character. But still, a moment of silence for Misfits as we knew it, and the glorious Nathan. He tripled himself.

Okay, that's enough silence. Look, I got to meet Simon and Kelly!

They look a little alarmed by the costumes.

Misfits was the only panel we attended on Sunday (missed Toby Whithouse talking Being Human. Damn! Apparently Mitchell is definitely dead.) Instead, we spent most of the rest of the day queuing, this time for a Dave Gibbons signing. Being an excellent daugher, I stole my Dad's copy of Watchmen and got it signed for him.

So for me, Sunday was a day for meeting people and a hell of a lot of cosplay! I met Con-Buddy No. 2 Andy in the Gibbons queue, along with Cosplay-Buddy No. 1 Huntress:

(Come on Gail Simone, you know you want this Birds of Prey team-up to happen)

After the Gibbons signing, we managed to queue-jump for John Romita Jnr, leaving me gutted that I'd left my Mark Millar-signed Kick-Ass at home. Helga got the writer/artist double on her copy and I've never seen her so excited. Incidently, JRJR had to leave his scheduled signing early in the morning, so he came back in the afternoon unscheduled and signed until everyone who wanted his John Hancock had it. Legend.

Sunday also gave me my iconic comic con moment, running between the cosplay parade and the Gibbons queue, holding my top hat on my head like a slutty Artful Dodger while Con-Buddy No. 1 Alex yelled "the queue's moving and it's moving fast!" at me. I won't lie to you - running while in a superhero costume makes you feel extra heroic. If only I had a cape.

By the end of the day a bunch of my follow cosplayers had invited us to the pub with them for a post-con drink. And this is just the best thing about Kapow. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming, happy to chat about what you were in to and playfully rib you over your choice of favourite Green Lantern. It's a 5,000-strong community of potential friends. The image of anti-social Comic Book Guys just doesn't ring true anymore. The crowd at Kapow was young, mixed gender and fun - so long as you don't try to cut in front of them in a queue. I had a brilliant time and I'll be booking my tickets for next year as soon as they become available.

Here are some more pics to end on:

You can't really see him here, but God bless the bloke who came as Blue Beetle! (He's behind one of the Ivy's) Me and Judge Dredd swapping hats.

Who ya gonna call?

Just chilling after the con.

There are far too many pics to have up here, and I'm sure there'll be a few pics of Zatanna knocking about on other people's blogs and Twitters. Give me a shout if you spot any!

But for now - Kapow, thanks for the memories!